Verbs: second conjugation

This is for verbs that end in 'i' or 'ee'. Take the verb stem and add, -yey -sey -yey -sey -nney -nney -seen -yeen Past tense kari samee  qadee Waan kariyey sameeyey qadeeyey Waad karisey sameesey qadeesey Wuu kariyey sameeyey qadeeyey Wey karisey sameesey qadeesey Waannu  karinney sameenney qadeenney Weynu karinney sameenney qadeenney Waad kariseen sameeseen qadeeseen Wey kariyeen sameeyeen qadeeyeen Maad qadeeysey? - Have you had lunch Haa, waan qadeeyey - Yes, I had lunch   Maad casheesey?    - Have you had  dinner? Haa, waan casheeyey - Yes, I've had dinner Maad karisey hilibka ?  Haa, waan kariyey. Maad sameeysey homeworkaaga? Haa, waan sameeyey. Maad safeeysey qolkaaga? - Have you cleaned your room? Haa, waan safeeyey. Vocab safee - to clean cashee- to have dinner kari - to cook qadee - to have lunch samee - to do, to make

Introductions: a recap

By now, you should be able to introduce yourself using basic Somali. For example,


My name is...    Magacaygu waa...
I come from....  .... baan ka imid
I am....             ..... baan ahay


Listen to this self introduction from a German man. (it starts at 0:44). Try to pick out the set phrases above. Also he uses

Waan tegay - I went
Waan ka tegay - I left (a place)(Note: remember 'ka' here means 'from')
Waan imid - I came (to a place)



.

'oo' (and)

In English you can use 'and' with both verbs and nouns, but in Somali when you want to connect nouns you use 'iyo', and when you want to connect verbs you use 'oo'.


'Naag iyo nin'  - a woman and a man

but

'Cun oo cab' - Eat and drink
Guriga soo gal oo jiifso - Come inside the house and lie down
U sheeg oo soo noqo - Tell him and come back

Waan ka helay vs. Waan jeclahay

There are two ways to say "I like it". You can say either


Waan jeclahay - I like it
Waan ka helay - I like it


"Waan jeclahay" is a general way of saying that you like something. "Waan ka helay" is a more colloquial or slang term, similar to the American expression "to be into something/someone" . For example,


Waan ka helay gabadhaas - I'm really into her
Waan ka helay filimka - I really like the film

'Waan ka helay' is different from 'Waan helay'. 'Waan helay' means 'I found it'. 

Waan jeclahay
Waad jeceshahay 
Wuu jeclahay 
Way jeceshahay
Waannu jecelnahay
Weynu jecelnahay
Waad jeceshihiin
Wey jecelyihiin






Waan ka helay     - I like it
Waad ka heshay  - You like it
Wuu ka helay      -  He likes it
Wey ka heshay    - She likes it
Waannu ka helney - We like it
Weynu ka helney  - We like it
Waad ka hesheen - You(pl.) like it
Wey ka heleen     - They like it

 In Somali, to say 'I like him' , you just use 'Waan jeclahay' or 'Waan ka helay' . You don't need to use an object pronoun. Alternatively, you can specify who you like e.g.  'Ninka waan ka helay' (I like the man). 

Waan kaa helay - I like you(singular)
Waan idinka helay - I like you (plural)


'kaa' here is a contraction of ka & ka(you) .

Xaggee baad ka timid?

'Xaggee baad ka timid' means literally 'Where did you come from?'. It can also mean 'Where are you from?'. You might hear this when introducing yourself to others.

Student A: Magacaa?
Student B: Magacaygu waa Jamal. Adiguna?
Student A: Waa Cabdi. Jamal, xaggee baad ka timid?
Student B : Mareykan baan ka imid.
Student A : Barasho wanaagsan
Student B: Barasho wanaagsan

Vocab
xaggee - where
Mareykan - America

'Xaggee' means 'where'. 'Ka' is a preposition that have learned before, it means 'from'. 'timid' is the 2nd person past tense form of the verb 'imow' which means 'to come'.

To answer, put the name of the place where you're from and add '~baan ka imid' (I'm from ~). For example

Ingriis baan ka imid - I'm from Britain
Japan baan ka imid - I'm from Japan
Shiina baan ka imid - I'm from China
Ruush baan ka imid - I'm from Russia
Sacuudi baan ka imid - I'm from Saudi Arabia

The boy's book ( Definite article + Third person possesive pronoun)

If you want to use the possesive pronoun for the third person, just add either -iisu for a male subject, or -eedu for a female subject. E.g. 'magaciisu' (his name), 'borsadeedu' (her handbag). 

But what if you want to say 'the boy's book', or 'the girl's handbag'? You do this by using the definite article and then using the possesive pronoun. So,

Wiilka buuggiisa - The boy's book (lit: 'The boy his book')
Gabadhdha borsadeeda - The girl's handbag (lit: 'The girl her handbag)
Ninka naagtiisa - The man's wife
Macallinka qalinkiisa - The teacher's pen 

My name is...

This is a good video on Youtube that explains how to ask people's names. I put this video up so you can get a feel for the sounds of Somali. Pay attention to the pronunciation.

Note : The word 'inan' can mean either 'young boy' or 'young girl'. Somali is a tonal language like Swedish or Mandarin. So, the same word can have a different meaning based on the way the tones of the syllables are pronouned. When you say 'inan' with a rising intonation, it means 'young girl'; with a falling intonation it means 'young boy'. Another way of knowing the difference is by looking at the definite article. To say 'the young boy' is 'inanka', to say 'the young girl' is 'inanta'.

'Inankana magaciis?' means 'And what is his name?'. The suffix 'na' here means 'and'. You put it at the end of the noun that you are referring to. So if you see a man together with a boy, you might ask the man first 'Magacaa?' or 'Magacaagu muxuu yahay?' (What is your name?) and then after 'Inankana magaciis?' (And what is the boy's name?) . I will review this more fully in a later post.

A short break

Due to the events that are currently taking place in Japan, I have to make arrangements to go back home. Therefore, I won't be able to update this blog for about a week or maybe a couple of weeks. However, there is already enough here for you to practise with. In the meantime, here is an interesting video about Xalwad. It is a traditional Somali sweet. Ma'as salaama.

Aabbe iyo Hooyo

The word for 'father' in Somali is 'aabbe'. The word for 'mother' is 'hooyo'.

aabbahay	my father	hooyaday	my mother
aabbahaa	your father	hooyadaa	your mother
aabbihiis	his father	hooyadiis	his mother
aabbaheed	her father	hooyadeed	her mother
aabbeheen	our father	hooyadeen	our mother
aabbahood	their father	hooyadood	their mother

Pronouns: a recap

We've studied different types of pronouns, it's easy to get confused. Here I want to clarify the different types of pronouns there are in Somali.

Subject pronouns

These are the pronouns that perform the actions of the verb. In English 'he' 'she' 'I', etc.


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Subject Pronouns
Anigu	I
Adigu	You
Isagu	He
Iyadu	She
Innagu	We
Annagu	We
Idinku	You(pl)
Iyagu	They

Possesive Pronouns

Then there are Possesive pronouns, like 'my' 'your 'his' etc.

 
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PossesivePronouns
Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
kayga	tayda	my
kaaga	taada	your
kiisa	tiisa	his
keeda	teeda	her
keenna	teenna	our(excl)
kayaga	tayada	our(incl)
kiinna	tiinna	your(pl.)
kooda	tooda	their

You put these at the end of the noun. For example 'buug' means 'book'. It is masculine therefore you use the masculine possesive pronoun. But, 'buug' ends in 'g' so you have to change from 'kayga' to 'gayga', or from 'kaaga' to 'gaaga'. Therefore, 'buugayga' (my book), 'buugaaga' (your book). We talked about this when we did the definite articles. If the noun is feminine like 'shimbir' (bird), then you use the feminine possesive pronouns. 'shimbirtayda' (my bird), 'shimbirtaada' (your bird) etc.

Object pronouns 

These are the pronouns who are the object of the sentence. For example, in English 'Mike praised him' . In this sentence 'him' is the object pronoun.


<><><><>

Object Pronouns
i	me
ku	you
-	him
-	her
na	us(excl)
ina	us(incl)
idin	you(pl)
-	them

Object pronouns come before the verb. 'I maqal' (Listen to me). There are no object pronouns for 'him, 'her' or 'them. So a phrase like 'Waan jeclahay' can mean 'I like him/her/them/it'.

'ama'

In Somali, the word for 'or' is 'ama'.


Joog ama tag  - Stay or go


Akhri ama dhimo - Read or die


Cun ama cab - Eat or drink


Guriga gal ama tag - Go inside the house or leave!


Hadal ama aamus - Talk or be quiet


 I Maqal ama tag!  - Listen to me or go!


Note: Remember the object pronoun 'me' in Somali is 'i'. 'Magal' means 'listen'. 'I maqal!' means 'listen to me!'

When to use 'baa', or 'buu', 'bey', etc.

When the focus is on the subject, then use 'baa'

Shimbirta yaa diley? - Who killed the bird?
Aniga baa diley       -  I killed it

When focus is on the object then you use 'buu', 'bey', 'baan' etc.

Wiilku, ma shimbir buu dilay?  Haa.
                   (OBJECT)

Did the boy kill a bird? Yes.


Ninkii naagtii     buu           arkey  
SUBJECT OBJECT FOCUS-WORD      VERB

It was the woman whom the man saw
(he didn't see a child, or a horse etc.)

Ninkii      baa            naagtii    arkey
SUBJECT FOCUS-WORD        OBJECT     VERB

It was the man who saw the woman
(It wasn't a child who saw the woman)

Ninkii    naagtii    baa            aragtey
OBJECT      SUBJECT   FOCUS-WORD       VERB      

As for the man, it was the woman who saw him
(He wasn't seen by a old man, etc)


Note: I said before that the subject always comes at the beginning. I was wrong, it doesn't have to. But, usually the TOPIC of the sentence comes at the beginning. In these sentences, the topic is 'Ninkii'. But in the last sentence, the subject is not 'Ninkii' it's 'naagtii' .

A typical school day

Shaley dugsiga baan tagey       - Yesterday I went
                                                     to the school

Buug taariikhda Mareykanka - We read a book on
 baannu akhrinney                     American history

Markaas baannu qadeeynney - Then, we had lunch

Fasalka baannu safeeyney - We cleaned the classroom

Macallinka baa buugag na siiyey - The teacher gave
                                                        us some books
Vocab

shaley - yesterday
qadee - to have lunch
safee - to clean

First conjugation Verbs : practice

Guriga gal - Enter the house
Bax!  -  Get out!
Warqad qor - Write a letter


'Yaa' means 'who' in Somali. We use it with verbs.


Yaa    qoray    buuggan?     - Who wrote this book?
Who    wrote   book-THIS


 Anigu baa qoray - I wrote it

 Yaa cuney hilibka?              - Who ate the meat?


Wiilkaas baa cuney             - That boy ate it


Yaa tagey?                         - Who went?


Maxamed baa tagey            - Mohammed went


Yaa baxay?                         - Who went out


Xaliimo baa baxday             - Halima went out


qor - to write


Waan qoray
Waad qortay
Wuu qoray
Wey qortey
Waannu qorney
Weynu qorney
Weydin/Waad qorteen
Wey qoreen


bax - to go out


Waan baxay
Waad baxday
Wuu baxay
Wey baxday
Waannu baxney
Weynu baxney
Weydin/Waad baxdeen
Wey baxeen


gal - to enter


Waan galay
Waad gashey
Wuu galay
Wey gashey
Waannu galney
Weynu galney
Weydin gasheen
Wey galeen

(Note: in Somali when l & t come together they change to 'sh')

Verbs - The First Conjugation (Past tense)

Verbs are the most complex part of Somali grammar. We'll go through it step by step. First, I said before that we use the command form as the base form. For example 'tag' means 'go'. To say 'I went', 'He went' etc is as follows,

Waan tagey                   - I went

Waad tagtay                  - You went

Wuu tagey                     - She went

Wey tagtey                    - He went
Waannu tagney              - We went (excl.)

Weynu tagney                - We went (incl.)

Weydin/Waad tagteen    - You (pl.) went

Wey tageen                    - They went

For simple verbs that end in a consonant, add the following to the base form of the verb

-ey (I)
-tey (You)
-ey (He)
-tey (She)
-ney (We)
-ney (We)
-teen (You)
-een (They)

Cun! - Eat!
Bariiska cun! - Eat the rice!
Hilibka cun!  - Eat the meat!
Maad cuntay? - Have you eaten?
Haa, waan cunay - Yes, I've eaten
Maxaad cuntay? - What did you eat?
Baasto baan cunay - I ate pasta

Notice with 'Maxaad cuntay?' , the focus is on what was eaten. Therefore, when answering it is more natural to use 'baan' which focuses on the noun before it 'Baasto'.

Soo...sii...wada...kala : Prepositions of movement

Wey ordeen           - They ran
Wey soo ordeen     - They ran this way
Wey sii ordeen       - They ran off
Wey wada ordeen  - They ran together
Wey kala ordeen    - They dispersed


soo     - here, in this direction; go and do (something) and come back here
sii        - there, in that direction; in the meantime
wada   - towards each other; together
kala     - apart, separately


The verb 'maal' means 'to milk'.


Soo maal  - Go and milk (an animal) and then come here


Many scholars say that this phrase 'Soo maal' is the origin of the name 'Somali'.


Noqo! - Return!
Soo noqo! - Come back here
Sii noqo! - Go back there (in the meantime)


Soco!  - Get going!
Soo soco! - Come on, catch up! (used when the speaker is further ahead)
Sii soco ! - Keep on going!


Soo qaad - Bring (it) here
Sii qaad   - Take (it) there
Wada qaad - Take (them) all together
Kala qaad - Take it apart  

'Abdi told me'

How do you say 'Abdi told me' in Somali? We saw that the verb 'to tell' in Somali is 'u sheeg'. We use the object pronoun 'i' to represent the word 'me'.  Therefore,


Cabdi    baa            i       u   sheegay
Abdi     FOCUS      me       told   


However, in Somali when 'i' & 'u' come together, they fuse to become 'ii'. So the correct sentence is


Cabdi    baa  ii  sheegay   - Abdi told me


Can you remember the other object pronouns? They are


ku = you
na = us(excl.)
ina= us (incl.)
idin=you(pl.)

'u' is used for him/her/them

When you add the 'u' of 'u sheeg', they become,


ku + u = kuu
na + u  = noo
ina + u = inoo
idin + u = idiin


This is important because you will see these preposition/pronoun fusions often in Somali.


Cabdi baa kuu sheegay - Abdi told you
Cabdi baa noo sheegay - Abdi told us (excl.)
Cabdi baa inoo sheegay - Abdi told us (incl.)
Cabdi baa idiin sheegay - Abdi told you (pl.)

Using prepositions

U - to, for

Shaah kari -    Make tea
Shaah u kari - Make tea for him/her/them

Cunto samee -    Make some food
Cunto u samee - Make some food for him/her/them

Remember the pronouns 'aniga', 'adiga' etc. When they became the subject( i.e. the one doing the action) then we changed the pronoun to 'anigu', 'adigu' etc. (e.g. Anigu Mareykan baan tagey). Now in the following sentences, they become the object of the sentence so the pronouns are written as 'aniga' 'adiga', etc.

 Isaga  u  keen    -  Bring (it) to him
           u   dhiib   -   Hand (it) to him
           u   geey   -   Take (it) to him
           u   tag      -   Go to him
           u   yeedh  -   Call him
           u   jeeso   -   Turn toward him

KA - from, away from, out of

Shiina waan tagey         - I went to China
Shiina waan ka tagey    - I went from China

Iyada   ka   jeeso    - Turn away from her
            ka   keen    - Bring it from her
            ka   tag       - Go away from her
            ka   geey     - Convey it from her
            ka   sheeg   - Talk about her

KU - in(to), at; with,  by means of

Xabadda rid!     - Shoot the bullet
Xabadda ku rid!  - Shoot the bullet at (him)!

Isaga    ku   jeeso  -  Turn to him
            ku   sheeg  -  Call him (a name)
            ku   keen   -   Bring him by  (it)
            ku   geey   -   Take him by  (it)

LA - togerther with

Kaaley!      -   Come here!
La kaaley!  -   Bring it !

Wuu hadley     - He spoke
Wuu la hadley -  He spoke with him/her/them

Iyada    la   cun    - Eat with her
             la   keen - Come with her
             la   geey  - Convey (it) with her
             la   qaad  - Take it with her
             la   tag     - Go with her

Prepositions in Somali

In English, prepositions are words like 'at', 'in', 'to', 'for', etc. In Somali, there are some verbs that don't require a preposition, for example,


bax  - go away
joog - remain at
sug   - wait for


Then, there are verbs that require a preposition,


u sheeg - tell (someone)
u yeedh - call (someone)
ku dhufo - hit (someone)


Also, some verbs may need a preposition depending on the object. For example,
'tag' which means 'to go' can be used without a preposition when the object is a place,


Mareykan baan tagay  - I went to America


But when the object is a person, you need to use 'u' which means 'to'


Cali baan u tagay   - I went to Ali


Unlike English, in Somali the preposition comes before the verb,


Cali baabuurka u keen    -  Bring the car for Ali
 "             "       ka  "           Bring the car from Ali
 "             "       ku  "           Bring Ali in/with the car
 "             "       la   "           Bring the car with Ali


u    = to, for
ka  = from, away from, out of; about, concerning
ku  = in, into, on, at, with, by means of, using
la   = with, together with, in company with

ii sheeg - 'Tell me'

When you want to ask for information about something, you can state the noun, add 'aaga' which means 'your' then put 'ii sheeg' at the end of it.


Nambar    +   aaga    + ii sheeg  
(number)        (your)    (tell me)   

Nambarkaaga ii sheeg - Tell me your number
Magacaaga ii sheeg     - Tell me your name
Adreskaaga ii sheeg    - Tell me your address
Sheeko ii sheeg           - Tell me a story

A word for 'please' in Somali?

I have been studying Somali on and off for a few years, but I haven't found an authenic Somali word for 'please'. Somalis can and do use the word 'fadlan' which means please, but this is an Arabic word. Another expression that Somalis use if they really want you to do something for them is,


Waan ku barayayaa - I'm begging you!


Technically speaking it's different from please but performs a similar function. If anyone can think of a Somali word for 'please', please let me know!

Self-introduction - Part 2

Now we'll use what we've learned so far to give a more detailed self-introduction


Maalin wanaagsan                     -  Good day
Magacaygu waa Warsame        -   My name is Warsame
Soomaali baan ahay                  -  I am a Somali
Ardey baan ahay                      -   I am a student
Labaatan jir baan ahay             -    I am 20 years old
Waxbarashada baan jeclahay   -    I like education
Barasho wanaagsan                 -     Pleased to meet you

Be good children

I said that 'ahow' is the command form of 'ahay'. We can use 'ahow'  to tell people to be good or honest etc.
For example,


Wiil wanaagsan ahow - Be a good boy
Gabadh wannagsan ahow - Be a good girl


If you are telling a group of people, change 'ahow' to 'ahaada',


Caruur wanaagsan ahaada - Be good children


Remember in Somali the verb usually comes at the end of a sentence.

' I am an...' 'You are a ...'

Now that we know what 'baa' is, we can make statements about ourselves and others using 'baa'. For example,


Anigu ardeyga cusub baan ahay - I am the new student


The part 'baan ahay' means 'I am'. It focus on 'ardeyga cusub'. The speaker is introducing himself and is telling the listener that he is the new student.


baan ahay            - I am
baad tahay           - You are
buu yahay            - He is
bey tahay             - She is
baannu nahay       - We are (exclusive)
beynu nahay         - We are (inclusive)
beydin/baad tihiin  - You (all) are
bey yihiin              - They are


'ahay' comes from the verb 'ahow' which means 'to be'. The difference between 'ahow' and 'waa' is that 'waa' is not a verb but a classifier. Some example sentences using 'baa' and 'ahow'.


Soomaali baan ahay - I am a Somali
Nin xun baad tahay  - You are a bad man
Libaax buu yahay    - He is a lion
Naag wanaagsan bey tahay - She is a nice woman
Reer Yurub baannu nahay - We are Europeans
Odayaasha bey yihiin - They are the elders

The use of 'baa'

We saw before that when you want to make simple declarative sentences 'This is a ..' you use 'waa'


Kani waa buug - This is a book


Here I want to introduce 'baa'. 'Baa' is a focus word, it acts in a similar way to 'waa' but it focuses on a word and stresses it.


Anigu         caanaha         baan            cabbey 

(SUBJECT)  (OBJECT) (FOCUS-WORD) (VERB)

     I              the milk                              drank

Here, the focus word emphasizes the noun that comes before it (in this case 'caano'),in other words what is stressed is that the subject drank the milk (not orange juice or another drink).


As with 'Ma' and 'waa', 'baa' can be fused with verbal pronouns.


       baan           -  I
       baad           - You
       buu             - He
baa bey              - She
       baannu        - We(exclusive)
       beynu          - We(inclusive)
       beydin/baad - You(plural )
       bey              - They

Asking and answering simple questions

I said before that in Somali the subject comes at the beginning. We also talked about 'waa' , which means ' it is'.  First of all, how do you ask a question in Somali? One way is to use 'Ma'. For example,


Ma nabad baa? -  How are you? ( but literally 'Is it peace?')
Ma buug  baa?  - Is it a book?
Ma gabadh baa? - Is it a girl?


You can combine 'Ma' with what is called 'verbal pronouns'. These pronouns have to be used in conjuction with verbs.

-aan   - I

-aad   - You

-uu     - He

-ey     - She (or They)

-aannu - We( exclusive )

-eynu   - We((inclusive )

-eydin/-aad (You (plural))

-ey       - They

Combine it with ' Ma' and you can start asking questions with verbs in Somali. For example,

Baariis maan tagey?            - Did I go to Paris?

     "     maad tagtey?           - Did you go to Paris?

     "     muu   tagey?            - Did he go to Paris?

     "     mey   tagtey?           - Did she to go "  ?

     "     maannu tagney?      - Did we(ex.) go to "?

     "     meynu  tagney?       - Did we(inc.) go to "?

     "     meydin/maad tagteen?- Did you (all) go to "?

     "     mey tageen?             -  Did they go to "?

To say 'Yes, I went to', again use the verbal pronoun, this time combine with 'waa', We said before that 'waa' means 'it is'.


          waan                  - I

          waad                 - You

          wuu                   - He

          wey                   - She

waa    waannu              - We

          weynu                - We

          waad/weydin      - You(pl)

          wey                    - They

For example,

Haa, Baariis waan tagey          - I went to Paris

            "      waad tagtay          - You went to "

            "      wuu tagey             - He went to "

            "      wey tagtey            - She went to "

            "      waannu tagney     - We went(ex.) to "

            "      weynu tagney       -  We went (inc.)  to "

            "      waad/weydin tagteen - You went to "

            "      wey tageen            - They went to "